By
definition a profound experience, especially those musical in nature,
affect every aspect of our senses. All of our senses our interconnected
and a musical epiphany means that we are in a heightened sense of arousal
where all of our senses, smell, taste, hearing, all of our body
is trembling... meaning the whole of us gets high.

As
you know I have been struggling to expand the vernacular of the audio
arts, and have used eccentric analogies to convey meaning in a sport
that is dedicated to experiences which no language can describe: the
most ineffable, dematerial and subjective human emotions. This
explains why I often turn to classic Jewish deli to
explain my most profound feelings about the audio arts. So just give
this piety a chance.

Very
few understand what it means to be chosen, in the way the
Jewish people are chosen, so I must educate many. To be chosen means
many things, but being chosen always means being chosen to bear
a heavy burden. It is the burden of knowing the truth...like the truth
of what constitutes a truly state of the art corned beef sandwich, and
the truth about how to shop wholesale. Before I discuss David Bernings
amazing new, and worlds first bi-sexual SET ZOTL I must explore
with you the art of the classic corned beef sandwich

(the
type that Moses ate before he trekked up the mountain to get the ten
commandments), which is a lot like the art of creating a great amplifier.
I will not now discuss the art of shopping wholesale because too much
excitement at once is not good for your heart.

The
art of creating a state of the art corned beef sandwich is all about
balance; balancing the fat content with the meat. Too lean and the taste
is very dry and analytical and does not induce the kind of tongue quivering
spasm of delight we expect from such delicatessen delicacies. Too fat
and the delicate flavor, aroma and spices of the corned beef are fogged
over with fat. Perfect balance must be achieved, yet there is no doubt
that each deli-maven has their own opinion about the ratio between fat
and meat. This is a very important aesthetic consideration.

As
a young Jewish boy I was obliged to attend Hebrew School to receive
rigorous training in: (2) the Torah, a very Holy scroll of wisdom,
and (2) how to order deli properly. When Jewish boys turn thirteen we
are Bar Mitzvahed, become men, and are, for the first time, permitted
to order deli on our own, and this is a very big deli deal. It shouldnt
surprise you that my report card in Hebrew School indicated F
in Torah and A in deli, which should point out that I was
an idiot savant even as a boy.

I
also want to point out for all of my Christian friends living in the
midwest, that the wrath of God will strike you dead if you eat corned
beef with mayonnaise on white bread with lettuce. There is only one
way to enjoy classic corned beef... with real spicy New
York Type brown mustard, and real Jewish Rye bread. If you should ever
visit New York City be sure to go to Katzs Deli on Houston Street
to experience one of the most esoteric form of Semitic ecstasy, and
be sure to take your glycerin pills and oxygen bottle so you can recover
from the experience. At your first bite you will hear the Voice of God.

I
also want to point out that the reason the Israeli solider is such an
effective warrior is that before every battle the Army serves him/her
a corned beef sandwich on rye.

SO
WHAT DOES THIS HAVE TO DO WITH DAVID BERNINGS AMPLIFIERS?

Because
only those who have an above average IQ read my articles, you know that
an amplifier is just like a corned beef sandwich... it is possible to
tune an amplifier/sandwich so that it has just the right balance
of lean and juicy. As I clearly stated in my first articles
about the 300B SET ZOTL I was put off guard by the clarity of this amplifier.
It takes about five seconds of listening to ZOTL to identify the type
of distortion that is endemic to all output transformers. I commented
that the major problem with this amazing new ZOTL circuit is just how
low in distortion it is, and how it painfully reveals all of the system
flaws that are smoothed over by output transformers.

In
many articles that appear on the TG web site, I have suggested that
the art of creating an ecstatic audio system is the art of knowing exactly
what kind of distortion works best for you. This is knowing your
right balance between the fat and the meat. ( Have you ever barbecued
a piece of lean meat and discovered you were chewing on leather?) This
is sport is not about getting the lowest distortion, but the most pleasure...and
that is the only thing that matters, and it is as personal as love....which
is also the art of balancing the pain and pleasure...we need them both.
Art is not about pursuing perfection, but about pursuing ecstasy.

What
I have just asserted is probably nauseating those who are always seeking
absolutely the lowest possible distortion, which is the old paradigm.
Triodians know that there is an art in balancing all aspects of an amplifier
design and if we add some distortion because we hate feedback sludge
so be it. Get my point? Do you get my point that each of you knows best
what combination of real world distortion works for you? Perfect amplifiers
always sound perfectly awful.

This
point was clarified for me when I sent Davids 300B SET ZOTL to
Art Dudley, who reported....This is the best sounding transistor
amp I ever heard. I believe Art was commenting on two things:
Davids amp didnt have the warm juicy midrange coloration
that we all love in our SETs, and it had, compared to transformer coupled
amps, a very squeaky clean sound. And he is absolutely right from
his point of view. We are now at the central paradox of the audio arts:

When
I auditioned all the ZOTL circuits (push/pull, 811 and 300B) with master
tapes there was no doubt that the Berning circuit was the best at creating
the illusion of the Steinway concert grand that we just recorded, and
all transformer coupled amplifiers sounded slow, sloggy and distorted.
On the other hand when used in my home system the Berning was not only
revealing the distortion endemic to all CD playback but other distortion
in my system, and this was very often not the most pleasureful, so I
began to listen to my less competent but more pleasureful (higher distortion)
transformer coupled amplifiers. Yes, I preferred the bloated midrange
of these amps...because I am a hedonist. Then I had to return the 300B
ZOTL to David....not an easy thing to do.

So
what does a smart thermionic techno-shaman do? I asked David Berning
if he could make me a corned beef sandwich with a little more fat. Because
he said he would try I sent David by Fed Ex, in a hermetically sealed
container, a perfect corned beef sandwich from Katzs Deli, so
he would have a reference for his design work. I think the success of
Davids amazing new circuit is directly related to having a Katzs
corned beef sandwich as a reference.

Now
we all know that David is the Einstein of tube circuits, so when he
called me after he ate the sandwich and told me  Gizmo, I am going
back to my drawing board, and I am not going to stop until I have an
answer for you.

So
what did the Master do? He went back to his drawing board and he started
to draw...he drew ducks, chickens, bunny rabbits, puppy dogs, tubes
playing with tubes, tube powered watches, tube powered fire trucks,
tube powered rockets and tube powered cars...and after many long
and playful hours at his drawing board he made a stunning breakthrough....EUREKA!
David had one of those major electro-mechanical breakthroughs...he
decided to change the value of one resistor. Thats right folks.
Americas most gifted thermionic techno-shaman made another one
of those startling breakthroughs..David came up with a NEW IMPROVED,
WHITER THAN WHITE, JUICIER THAN JUICY version of his 300B amp...by changing
one resistor. Normally this modification would cost at least $1,000
but David assures me that it only raises the price of the amp 49 Cents.
What a bargain. The ZOTL SET 300B MK I is now available.

WHAT
IS THE ESSENTIAL ENIGMA OF THE AUDIO ARTS?

According
to David there is no measurable difference in electrical performance
between the amplifier with the original and new resistor value, yet
there is a NOT SUBTLE aural differences, and the Einstein of Thermionics
doesnt know why! Which is the whole point about the audio arts...even
the Masters dont know what is going on at the edge of the art...but
they trust their ears. Which is exactly what Nobu Shishido said....trust
your ears.

NOW
LET US TAKE A ONE WAY PAUSE

Before
I describe the change I heard let me bring your attention to my writings
about THE ONE WAY WAY, which is all about the new cult of the single
driver speakers which includes Lowther, Diatone, and Fostex. America
is finally catching up to Japan and Europe because our DHT revolution
is picking up speed. What is so cool about this trend is that it is
a microcosm of speakermania righteousness, of magnetic wholeosity. The
best of these one way drivers have high impedance/high efficiency alnico
magnets which is RIGHT ON. Yes, they do have limited dynamic range and
anemic bass but their midrange is filled with cream, and best of all
these drivers demand a whopping NO MORE THAN THREE WATTS, if that much.

I
personally believe, and it is confirmed by those who are deep into THE
ONE WAY WAY that the smaller powered DHT a la 2A3, 45 and 50s are tonally
more suitable for these drivers than 300Bs. Let me qualify that...if
you have some the finest Japanese OPTs you can use a 300B with these
speakers. On the other hand a garden variety 2A3 is cool. You also remember
my comments about the new KR 2A3s being a completely new form of triode
cream. Lets pull this ball of wax together: THE ONE WAY WAY MAKES
GREAT SENSE, so I asked David to create a 2A3 version of his ZOTL so
that THE ONE WAY WAY cult could tremble in the tremendum of his creativity.

Let
me make this point more boldly: to push THE ONE WAY WAY THE RIGHT WAY
I asked David to make a 2A3 version of his amp which exploits the unique
beauty of the KR 2A3.

THE
WORLDS FIRST BI-SEXUAL SET

I
have often wondered if David didnt have some of Dr. Frankensteins
DNA. This was confirmed for me when he called me one night during a
thunder and lightening storm and I could hear screaming in the background.
He said,

Dr.
Gizmo, my experiment is a success. It lives. It breathes. It makes music.
It is a 300B or a 2A3. Have it your way.

Once
again David kicks solder flux in the face of human tube amplifier designers.
David figured out a really cool trick. He made adapter sockets for the
2A3s that cuts the filament voltage down from 5 volts to 2.5 volts.
How is this possible? Remember Davids ZOTLs have 200 KHZ
AC on the filaments because he uses ultra-high frequency switching power
supplies to eliminate all filament hum...creating the worlds quietest
amplifiers. Because of the high frequency of the filament voltage he
can use very tiny transformers to step down the filament voltage from
5 volts to 2.5 volts. This can only be done with this amplifier. David
fits these tiny transformers into a tube adapter sockets. Neato!

All
we have to do is plug these adapters into the amplifier and then plug
our 2A3s into these adapter sockets which hold the micro-transformer.
Want to listen to our 300Bs? Take out the 2A3s and their adapter plugs
and plug in 300Bs. How long does this take to back the switch back and
forth? About one minute.

There
is one caveat. There is no change to the 425 V power supply so you cant
use any of the conventional 2A3s which are designed to run on about
325 volts. If you are interested in bi-sexual DHT cream you must
use the KR 2A3s because they work extremely well with the ZOTL driver
circuit, can operate with 425 volts, and sound like they are delivering
about one third less power but with their own unique creamy personality.

Again
let me point out to 2A3 connoiseurs: the combination ultra high frequency
regulated switching power supplies, RF impedance matching, and a circuit
with the lowest possible noise

Both
the 2A3 and 300B version of ZOTL delivers more power than I can ever
use, and I personally prefer the sound of the KR 300Bs over the 2A3s
because, in spite of their slightly less refined sound, they have the
kind of harmonic testicularity that I love. Let me say this another
way...300Bs have the kind of aroma of taste I love in a corned beef
sandwich...rich, complex, smoky and bold, yet supple and erotic, with
a tinge of irony. But caveat emptor...you must have high effeciency
speakers to realize the value of this breaththrough.

MY
BRAIN IS ACID GREEN JELL-O WITH

GOLDFISH
SWIMMING ALL ABOUT

It
has been about three months since I have last listened to ZOTL, and
during that time my brain has mutated, I have slightly tweaked my speakers
and I am now listening to the cream of the cream Wadia 27X1 and 270
ultra cool digital gear ( which has taken me to the deep subatomic harmonic
of music) and some new audio cables. In other words everything is in
a constant state of change and anyone who attempts to be an audio robot
reviewer deserves to be enlisted in the Iranian Army. Since I last listened
to these amps I have been very deep into Plitrons new torroid
output transformers and have grown to love more deeply the Sun Audio
Amps.

So
it is with some regret and joy that I announce that David has, once
again, fucked up my brain in a major way...and just because he changed
one measly dumb resistor...which explains why this is not a sport for
the mentally competent. You have to be crazy to claim that one bullshit
little resistor can makes such a whopping difference. Yes, of course
the Wadia digital gear is making a very big difference, and once again
I am faced with the ZOTL CHALLENGE: all of the good music is better
and all of the mediocre stuff is worse. The juice gets juicier and the
vomit gets smellier.

One
resistor change has made the ZOTL much more dynamic in the way single-ended
circuits have that amazing midrange dynamism without sacrificing what
ZOTL does that no other transformer coupled amplifier can do...complete
balance from top to bottom. The upper octaves are there as are the bottom
octaves. While listening to a wide range of music I noticed (now get
this Pearsonism) there was an inner glow to the vibrato of strings,
a shimmering grace fell over the harmonics of Cassandra Wilsons
voice, it was as if an Angel of Tone was sprinkling fairy dust over
each note, but what was most stunning was the silence between the notes,
which become the background for a palpable sense of depth that I had
previously only experienced when staring at Dolly Partons
bosoms. My epiphany was having goose bumps. This combination of harmonic
purity, clarity, dynamism, and wave front wholeosity is completely
unique. And let me go on record once again and state that David
Berning pisses me off that this amplifier weighs under ten pounds.

And
there is another reason I hate this amplifier..I carry it around in
my attach» case to my friends house. It cant be tweaked, and it
all that I can do is swoon over its music abilities. What am I going
to do now...take up knitting?

So
let me state once again: this amplifier is not for everyone. It is too
good for most systems. It is the kind of device that forces us to reconsider
everything. It has given me a much greater appreciation how the best
Wadia digital gear can reveal the subatomic nature of digits...and that
is both good and bad. You absolutely must have the finest input devices
for this amplifier. You must have high efficiency speakers of high refinement,
and they are rare. This is absolutely the most stunning view of the
edge of the art of tube amplifier. There are many good reasons that
David is making other audio designers emotionally unstable.

Because
I love spending hours listening to the unique personality of tubes,
and because this amplifier reveals those differences better than any
other amplifier let me once again share with you my observations.

Having
lived with the Sun amplifiers now for six months I can boldly state
that when executed properly a push/pull 300B amplifier clearly demonstrates
the limitation of single-ended circuits in terms of missing frequency
extremes, and in particular their strange bassosity. The Sun demonstrates
how the push/pull amplifier has better control over the whole-istic
aural matrix.

What
I experience in this 7 watt, let me repeat 7 watt ZOTL circuit is almost
everything I love in the Sun, but without the limitations imposed by
output transformers. The Sun is still slightly better than this ZOTL
in one region of the bass, but in all other aspects this ZOTL is much
more balanced, and especially more revelatory in the upper octaves.

This
translates into a capacity to lay bare the most naked minutiae of the
music, including a brilliant insight into the nascent nature of the
different brands of tubes.

It
should be clear to all by now, that while some men love collecting stamps,
or cars, or fine wine...my thing is savoring the aroma of fine 300Bs.
With this ZOTL I am really getting off on the Western Electric 300Bs,
which forces me to sacrifice dynamics in the lower regions but produce
the most refined midrange. on up, of any 300B. These are the ideal tubes
for chamber music, harpsichord or other heavy information
rich midranged music.

My
opinions about the extraordinary value of the $99 JJ/Tesla 300Bs remains
the same, but now I also can hear their limitations against the KR 300Bs.
The KR tubes continue to amaze me for their virtue of balance, but I
can now hear, what I believe to be, a upper midrange microphonic coloration.
David confirmed this with his testing. This was not apparent in my transformer
coupled amplifiers, once again confirming how ZOTL has the ability to
reveal subtle harmonic intonations.

The
current version of ZOTL also reveal the very big difference in the spatial
attributes of the different brands of tubes, which is, of course, unmeasurable,
with any test equipment.

Having
the ability to switch back and forth between 2A3s and 300Bs is a big
deal for me because this means that two of these amplifiers is the ultimate
combo for bi-amping...2A3s on tweeters, 300Bs on woofer. The change
in value of one resistor has made this amplifier much more sensuous
without sacrificing any of its totally unique attributes.

When
David calls me and tells me he needs this amp back I am going to tell
him that it was stolen.

Only
the courageous will use this amplifier, because not everyone is ready
for triode heaven on earth.